Overhead carriage stop device mounted upon a beam along which the carriage travels



Sept. 13, 1960 w. R. SCHRIVER 2,952,222

OVERHEAD CARRIAGE STOP DEVICE MOUNTED UPON A BEAM ALONG WHICH THECARRIAGE TRAVELS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 6, 1959 ma w. 1

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INVENTOR. William R. Sch/Iver BY J 16min HIS ATTORNEYS I--- v l I-.0. 1. I I V II a II I W. R. SCHRIVER OVERHEAD CARRIAGE STOP DEVICEMOUNTED UPON Sept. 13, 1960 A BEAM ALONG WHICH THE CARRIAGE TRAVELS 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 6, 1959 .wwm R R W 3 Wm MSUMT R. m

H w m ll-villi n rllliillll |llllrlll I l I l I l l l ll United StatesPatent ice OVERHEAD CARRIAGE STOP DEVICE MOUNTED UPON A BEAM ALONG WHICHTHE CAR- .RIAGE TRAVELS William R. Schriver, 1278 Saxonburg Blvd.,Glenshaw, Pa.

Filed Feb. 6, 1959, Ser. No. 791,564 12 Claims. Cl. 104-98) Thisinvention relates to a stop device mounted upon a beam along which anoverhead crane or carriage travels from one beam to a second beamdisposed in an abutting end to end relationship. It is especiallyadapted for beams, rails or tracks which support overhead cranes,hoisting devices, etc. which travel along the tracks or rails from onebeam to another.

In a number of buildings, warehouses, industrial plants, etc. whereoverhead cranes lift and transport goods from one station to anotherstation, the overhead cr-ane travels from one track or rail to a secondtrack or rail in order to move the goods. Such travel is often effectedby use of a movable or floating track or set of tracks onto which thecrane is moved from a fixed track or rail. To bring about the travel, itis necessary that the movable or floating rail be brought in an end toend relationship with the fixed rail and be aligned therewith. Unlessthere is proper alignment of the movable rail with the fixed rail,cranes either cannot be transferred or if trans ferred, may be derailedin the transfer and/ or drop their load or cause it to shift to anawkward and untransportable position.

Until the alignment of the rails in the end to end relationship iscompleted, it is essential that the crane cannot run off the track onwhich it rides. Thus it is highly important to provide a dependable andfoolproof stop which prevents such run-off or derailment until thealignment is completed and which stop cannot be inadvertently opened orwithdrawn from a position whereat it intercepts the crane and preventstravel off of its track. I have invented a stop device for rails ortracks along which an overhead crane or carriage rides. ,My stop devicecannot be inadvertently withdrawn from its intercept position unless thetrack onto which the crane is to travel has been first properly alignedwith the track on which the crane is situated. Specifically, my stopde-v vic'e comprises a first stop member pivotally mounted upon one beamand disposed adjacent one end thereof. This first stop member is adaptedfor movement about its pivot mounting. A second stop member is likewisepivotally mounted upon a second beam and disposed adjacent one endthereof. The second stop member is adapted for movement about its pivotmounting and each of the two beams is adapted for disposal in an end toend relationship with the other.

Each of the stop members is so placed on its respective beam that a partthereof extendsfrom the pivot mounting toward a flange of the beam alongwhich a wheel or Patented Sept. 13, 196Q which engages a pin joined tothe other stop member and swings the other stop member from itsintercept position when the swinging means moves the stop member withthe arm about its pivot mounting from the intercept position to thetravel position.

On at least one of the two beams is a lock means disposed to engage thestop member and prevent swinging thereof from the intercept position.The lock means is movable into and out of engagement with the stopmember and is disposed adjacent the end of its beam. The other beamcarries an unlock means positioned thereon to engage the lock means whenthe two beams are in an abutting end to end relationship. Engagement ofthe unlock means with the lock means moves the lock means out ofengagement with the stop member whereby the stop members may be swungout of their intercept positions.

On one of the beams is a beam lock positioned to engage a part of thestop member disposed on the other beam when the stop member has beenswung out of its intercept position into the travel position. This beamlock thus locks the stop member of the other beam in the travelposition. It is movable into and out of engagement with the part of thestop member of the other beam and connected thereto is a means formoving the beam lock out of engagement with the part of the stop memberof the other beam.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown a preferred embodiment of myinvention in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation view of my stop device mounted on two beamswith the stop members in intercept position;

Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the stop device of Figure 1 showingthe stop members in travel position; Figure 3 is a plan view of thedevice of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an end elevation view of my device on the left-hand beamviewing Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an end elevation view of my device on the right-hand beamviewing Figure 1; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged section view of the mounting for the stopmembers of my device.

Referring to Figures 1-6 inclusive, my stop device comprises a firststop member 1 pivotally mounted on an I-beam 2 and a second stop member3 likewise pivotally mounted on a second I-beam 4. As shown, the I-beamsare disposed in adjacent, aligned end to end relationship and on thebeam 2 is a wheel assembly 5 of an overhead crane. The wheels 6 of theassembly 5 are disposed on the lower flange 7 of the beam 2 and traveltherealong from the beam 2 to the lower flange 8 of the beam 4.

The first stop member is a pair of bars 9 and 10 mounted upon a pivotassembly 11 disposed in the web 12 of the beam 2. The pivot assembly hasa spindle 13 positioned in a sleeve bearing 12a and rotatable thereinwith the sleeve bearing being disposed through the web 12 of the beam 2.The bars 9 and 10 straddle the web of the beam and are substantiallyparallel to each other as shown in Figure 3. One bar is affixed to eachend of the spindle which rotates in the bearing 12a of the spindle 13.As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the pivot assembly is in the upper part ofthe web 12 and adjacent one end of the beam. Mounting of the bars uponthe spindle is adjacent the upper end of each bar, viewing Figure 1, sothat a part 14 of each bar normally'extends downwardly toward the bottomflange 7 of the beam 2 and almost into engagement therewith.

Joined to the upper ends of theb-ars 9 and 10 is a hea 15 made from twoside pieces 16 and 17 each of which is joined to one of the two bars andis located at one side of the top flange 18 with a small clearancetherebetween. The side pieces 16 and 17 extend'beyon'd the' with theswinging means connected thereto has anarm;

end of the beam 2 and along. a part of the'sides. oft

beam 4 as shown in Figure 2 when the stop members 1 and 3 are swung intotravel position. In other words, with the stop members in travelposition, the side pieces -16 and 17 straddle the two beams 2 and 4where the beams abut "each other in an end-to-end relationship. Thereby,I maintain the two beams in end-to-end alignment and prevent them frommoving apart and out of alignment, thus avoiding derailment of a crane.Extending between the two side pieces is a plate 19 which is above thetop flange 18 and which is welded to the two side pieces.

The second stop member 3 is somewhat similar to the first and has thesame pivot assembly 11 and two bars 20 and 21 similarly mounted. The twobars straddle the web 22 of the second beam and each has a part 23 whichextends downwardly toward and almost into engagement with the bottomflange 8 of the second beam.

The stop members 1 and 3 are generally disposed as shown in Figure l andthere are in an intercept position relative to the wheel assembly 5. Inother words, the two bars9 and 10 of the stop member 1 are located sothat they engage the wheel assembly should it travel towards theleft-hand end of beam 2, viewing Figure 1. Thus the stop member 1 in theposition shown in Figure 1, i.e., the intercept position, intercepts thewheel assembly and prevents the overhead crane of which the wheelassembly is a part from traveling beyond the lower end of bars 9 and 11)to the left, viewing Figure 1. The second stop member 3 functions in thesame way.

Joined to the bar 20 of the second stop member 3 by spacers 24 and 25 isa pusher arm 26 which extends alongside the bar 20 and to one side ofthe top flange 27 of the beam 4 with a clearance therebetween.

Aflixed to the lower end of the bar 26 of the second stop member is aneye-bolt 28 to which one end of a cable 29 is tied. The cable extendsupwardly over a pulley (not shown) and thence down to floor level whereit can be pulled to cause the second stop member to swing in a clockwisedirection, viewing Figure 1, from the intercept position to a travelposition, shown in Figu're 2, where the part 23 extends in the directionof the top and bottom flanges of the beam 4. With the second stop member3 in the travel position shown in Figure 2, it is withdrawn frominterfering with travel of a wheel assembly or an overhead crane alongthe beam.

Swinging of the second stop member 3 in the clock- Wise direction on itsspindle brings the pusher arm 26 into engagement with a pusher pin 30joined to the side member 16 of the first stop member. Engagement of thepusher pin by the pusher arm causes the first stop member to swing in acounterclockwise are from the intercept position to a travel position,i.e., the one shown in Figure 2, where the part 14 extends in thedirection of the top and bottom flanges of the beam 2. Thus, by pullingon the cable 29, the stop device simultaneously brings both stop members1 and 3 from the intercept positions to the travel positions.

To prevent inadvertent lifting of the stop members from their interceptpositions to the travel position, a spindle lock 31 engages the spindle13 and prevents the stop devices from rotation about their pivotassemblies. The two stop devices have identical spindle locks andtherefore, description of one is a description of both. The spindle lockcomprises a pin 32 movably mounted on one side of the web 12 of the beam2 adjacent its abutting end and a coil spring 33 disposed in a housing34 also on the same side of the web and joined thereto. The pin 32 has ashaft 35 which extends along the side of the web and a short distanceahead of the end of the web 12, as shown in Figure l, where it engages aspring bumper 36 carried by the abutting beam. This bumper is mountedupon the web of the abutting beam opposite the end of the shaft 35. Thepin 32 has a hook 37, one part-of which slidably fits into a guideway 38and extends therethrough to a recess 39 in the spindle 13. When thespring bumper 36 does not engage the end of the shaft of the pin 32, thecoil spring 33, connected to the shaft 35, urges the end of the hookinto the recess of the spindle, thus preventing rotation of the spindlein its bearing and thereby precluding swinging of the stop member fromthe intercept position to the travel position.

This recess 39 is positioned on the spindle so that it is opposite thebore of the guideway 38 when the stop member is in its interceptposition. 'Thus, when the end of the hook enters into the recess, thespindle cannot rotate and the stop members are locked in their interceptpositions.

Engagement of the spring bumper 36 with the end of the shaft uponbringing two beams into abutting end to end relationship forces the pin32 against the urging of the coil spring 33 to the left, viewing beam 4in Figure l, and thereby moves the end of the hook out of the recess.Thus the spindle and the stop member mounted thereon are free to rotateand be swung out of the intercept position. Accordingly, unless there isend to end alignment of the two beams, there cannot be an inadvertentmovement of the stop members from intercept position to travel position.

When the two beams 2 and 4 are moved out of their abutting end toendrelationship, the stop members fall by their own weight to the interceptposition and the pins 32 no longer being subjected to the force of thespring bumper have their hooks moved into the recess 39 of the spindleby the coil spring 33 and thus lock the stop members in interceptposition.

Mounted upon the top flange 27 of the beam 4 is a spring lock 40 whichengages the plate 19 of the stop member 1 and maintains the stop memberin travel position. The spring lock, of course, only engages the plate19 when the arm 26 of the stop member 3 has contacted the pusher pin 30and swung the stop member 1 into its travel position.

The spring lock comprises a plunger 41 having a beveled leading face 42and being slidably disposed in a housing 43. Joined to one end of theplunger opposite the beveled face is an eye 44 to which is tied one endof a second cable 45. The second cable is used to pull the plunger tothe left, viewing Figures 1 and 2, and out of engagement with the plate19 of the stop member 1 so that the stop member is free to fall of itsown weight into the intercept position.

A spring (not shown) in the housing 43 urges the plunger to the rightand into engagement with the plate. The beveled face of the plungerpermits the plate to easily pass downwardly into lock position whereatthe beveled face end of the plunger extends above and over a part of theplate 19.

Extending laterally from the arm 26 is a clip 46 which is flat againstthe top flange 27 of the beam 4 when the stop member 3 is in its travelposition. A lip 47 welded to the plate 19 of the stop member 1 fits downover the clip and thus provides a second lock for the stop members intravel posit-ion.

One or both of the pins 32 (Figure 1) carry an electrical contact 48which engages a second electrical contact 49 attached to .the beam 4 andconnected to a conventional electric circuit (not shown) by wire 50 whenthe pin 32 is moved out of the recess 39 in the spindle 13. One of thecomponents of this electrical circuit is a light or buzzer (not shown)which is actuated when the two contacts engage one another, thusindicating that the stop members are unlocked.

My stop device has an outstanding safety feature, namely, that the stopmembers cannot be inadvertently raised from'inter'cept position unlesstwo beams are aligned in an abutting end to end relationship. Therefore,danger of overtravel of a crane on its track with a resulting wreckand/or dropping of the load, or even a falling of the crane from itstrack is eliminated. Thus are transferred from one set of tracks to asecond set of tracks, particularly through use of movable or floatingbeams.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is tobe understood that it may be otherwise embodied within the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

l. A carriage stop device mounted upon a beam along which a carriagetravels to a second beam disposed in end to end relationship comprisinga first stop member pivotally mounted upon one beam and disposedadjacent one end thereof, said first stop member being adapted formovement about its pivot mounting, a second stop member pivotallymounted upon the second beam and disposed adjacent one end thereof, saidsecond stop member being adapted for movement about its pivot mounting,each of said stop members being so positioned on their respective beamsthat a part thereof extends from its pivot mounting toward .a flange ofthe beam along which a wheel or movable part of said carriage travelsand is there disposed in an intercept position to engage said wheel andprevent it from travel to the end of its beam, means connected to one ofsaid stop members for swinging it about its pivot mounting out of theintercept position to a travel position whereat the carriage may travelfrom the end o-f-the beam, said stop member with the swinging meansconnected thereto having an arm which engages a means affixed to theother stop member and swings it from its intercept position when theswinging means moves the stop member with the arm about its pivotmounting from the intercept position to the travel position therebyenabling the wheel of a carriage to travel from one beam to the other,lock means on at least one of said two beams and disposed thereon toengage the stop member and prevent swinging thereof from its interceptposition, said lock means being movable into and out of engagement withsaid stop member and being so disposed adjacent the end of the beam thatan unlock means carried by the other beam engages said lock means whenthe two beams are in an adjacent end to end alignment, and thus movesthe lock means out of engagement with the stop member so that the stopmember may be swung out of its intercept position.

2. The device of claim 1 characterized by beam'lock means positioned onone of said two beams and adapted .to engage a part of the stop memberof the other beam when said stop member has been swung out of itsintercept position into its travel position, said beam lock means beingadapted to lock said stop member of the other beam in the travelposition, said beam lock means being movable into and out of engagementwith said part of the stop member, means connected to said beam lockmeans for moving it out of engagement with said part.

3. The device of claim 2 characterized by the stop member of the beamwith the beam lock means having a clip extending therefrom, a projectionmember connected to the stop member of the other beam and positioned toengage said clip when the stop members are in the travel position.

4. The device of claim 1 characterized by said unlock means being aspring bumper connected to the web of its beam and being adapted toengage said lock means and move it out of engagement with its stopmember.

5. The device of claim 1 characterized by one of said stop membershaving two side pieces which extend beyond the end of the beam mountingthe stop member and which extend along a part of the sides of the otherbeam and straddle both beams when the stop members are in the travelposition.

6. The device of claim 1 characterized by beam lock means positioned onone of said two beams and adapted to engage a part of the stop member ofthe other beam when said stop member has been swung out of its interceptposition into its travel position, said beam lock means being adapted.to lock said stop member of the" other beam in the travel position,said beam lock means being movable into and out of engagement with saidpart of the stop member, means connected to said beam lock "means formoving it out of engagement with said pant,

and one of said stop members having two side pieces which extend beyondthe end of the beam mounting the stop member and which extend along apart of the sides of the other beam and straddle both beams when thestop members are in the travel position. 1

'7. The device of claim 6 characterized by the stop member of the beamwith the beam lock means having a clip extending therefrom, a projectionmember connected to the stop member of the other beam and positioned toengage said clip when the stop members are in travel position.

8. 'A carriage stop device mounted upon a beam along which a carriagetravels to a second beam disposed in end to end relationship comprisinga first stop member pivotal-1y mounted upon one beam and disposedadjacent one end thereof, said first stop member being adapted formovement about its pivot mounting, a second stop member pivotallymounted upon the second beam and disposed adjacent one end thereof whichend is adapted to abut the end of the first beam, said second stopmember being adapted for movement about its pivot mounting, each of saidstop members being so positioned on their respective beams that a partthereof extends from its pivot mounting toward a flange of the beamalong which a wheel or movable part of said carriage travels and isthere disposed in an intercept position to engage said wheel and preventit from travel to the end of its beam, means connected to one of saidstop members for swinging it about its pivot mounting out of theintercept position to a travel position whereat the carriage may travelfrom the end of the beam, said stop member with the swinging meansconnected thereto having an arm which engages a means affixe-d to theother stop member and swings it from its intercept position when theswinging means moves the stop member with the arm about its pivotmounting from the intercept position to the travel position, therebyenabling the wheel of a carriage to travel from one beam to the other,lock means on at least one of said two beams and disposed thereon toengage the stop member and prevent swinging thereof from its interceptposition, said lock means being movable into and out of engagement withthe stop member, unlock means adapted to engage the lock means when thetwo beams are in an adjacent end to end alignment and move the lockmeans out of engagement with the stop member so that the stop member maybe swung out of its intercept position.

9. The device of claim 8 characterized by one of said stop membershaving two side pieces which extend beyond the end of the beam mountingthe stop member and which extend along a part of the sides of the otherbeam and straddle both beams when the stop members are in the travelposition.

10. The device of claim 8 characterized by beam lock means positioned onone of said two beams and adapted to engage a part of the stop member ofthe other beam when said stop member has been swung out of its interceptposition into its travel position, said beam lock means being adapted tolock said stop member of the other beam in the travel position, saidbeam lock means being movable into and out of engagement with said partof the stop member, means connected to said beam lock means for movingit out of engagement with said part.

11. A carriage stop device mounted upon a beam along which a carriagetravels to a second beam disposed in end to end relationship comprisinga stop member pivotally mounted upon one beam and disposed adjacent oneend thereof, said stop member being adapted for movement about its pivotmounting, an arm movably mounted upon the second beam disposed adjacentone end thereof, said stop member being so positioned on :its beam thata part thereof extends from its pivot mounting toward a flange of thebeam along which a wheel or movable part of said carriage travels andwhich part is disposed in an intercept position to engage said wheel andprevent it from traveling to the end of its beam, means connected to thearm for moving it into engagement with a means affixed to the stopmember and causing the stop member to swing from its intercept positiontoa travel position relative to the carriage whereat the carriage maytravel from its beam to the other beam, lock means on the beam with thestop member and disposed thereon to engage the stop member and preventit'swinging from its intercept position, said lock means being movableinto and out of engagement with the stop member and unlock meansdisposed to engage the lock means when the two beams are in adjacent endto end alignment, and move the lock means out of engagement with thestop member so that the stop 'member' may be swung out of its interceptposition.

12. The stop device of claim 11 characterized by said stop member havingtwo side pieces which extend beyond the end of the beam mounting thestop member and which extend along a part of the sides of the other beamand straddle both beams when the stop member is in the travel position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS809,482 Whittemore Jan. 9, 1906 1,553,439 Gold-berg Sept. 15, 19252,471,513 Bogle May 31, 1949 2,642,814 Anjeskey June 23, 1953 2,851,960Paine Sept. 16, 1958

